Native Instruments has announced Traktor Kontrol F1, a pad-based, USB-powered hardware controller built to control the advanced Remix Decks in the included Traktor Pro 2.5 software.

Traktor Kontrol F1 provides 16 multi-colored, touch-sensitive LED pads, an advanced global control section as well as an ergonomic mixer section including four volume faders and dedicated filter knobs. Designed specifically for DJing, the Kontrol F1 offers a DJ-centric workflow for launching clips in an intuitive way, allowing users to switch between up to 64 tracks, loops and one-shot samples on each deck.

Traktor Kontrol F1 includes the full version of the Traktor Pro 2.5 software, also available as a free update to all users of the Traktor 2 generation. Version 2.5 introduces the innovative Remix Decks, giving access to a powerful loop suite made up of 64 slots, each able to hold loops, one-shot samples or even tracks. DJs can control up to four Remix Decks at once and save their work as an entire Remix Set with its respective beat grids, BPM and key information in a new file format that can be comfortably imported into a track deck via Traktor's browser.

Traktor Kontrol F1 was designed specifically to control the Remix Decks and provides full and tactile control over the new feature, benefiting from seamless bi-directional software-hardware integration and offering full visual feedback through the multi-colored LED pads. Advanced parameters such as Punch mode and FX assignment can also be comfortably changed from the Kontrol F1 and four smaller pads at the bottom of the matrix stop or mute a group of samples. Controlling Sync, Quantize, Sample Size, Reverse and other functionality, the comprehensive global section also features a push encoder to switch through the four pages of the 16 pads and offers a 'Capture' button, which allows DJs to grab samples from running tracks of each track deck within the Traktor software, both before and during the actual DJ performance.

Each regular track deck within Traktor Pro 2.5 can be switched to a Remix Deck, thus offering dedicated transport, sync and tempo master controls. This allows DJs to control an entire Remix Deck via Native Scratch timecode control with vinyl or CDs, or using the jog wheels of the Kontrol S4 and Kontrol S2 hardware.

Traktor Kontrol F1 was designed to integrate perfectly into any Traktor DJ setup. With the same form-factor as Traktor Kontrol X1, Kontrol F1 fits neatly alongside standard DJ mixers and the all-in-one DJ systems Traktor Kontrol S4 and S2. The Traktor Bag provides reliable protection for the Kontrol F1 during transport, and also doubles as a solid stand, elevating the Kontrol F1 to standard mixer and turntable height.

Pricing & Availability

Traktor Kontrol F1 will be available on May 30th, 2012, for a suggested retail price of $279 / €249 at authorized retailers and at the NI Online Shop. It will ship with a full version of Traktor Pro 2.5. All owners of Traktor Pro 2, Traktor SCRATCH PRO, Traktor Kontrol S2 and Traktor Kontrol S4 will receive Traktor Pro 2.5 as a free update from May 30th.

A video, in which DMC champion DJ Shiftee demonstrates how to use the Kontrol F1 by combining clip-launching with intricate scratch techniques, is available on YouTube